Vegas with a 12 year old boy...

[OneStepAtATime]

DS and I may be joining DH in Vegas during a convention.  We will be using public transportation during the day, just the two of us, until DH can join us.  We are going to do Hoover Dam with DH.  What options are there for fun stuff for a 12 year old during the day?  i don't mind traveling further out than Las Vegas proper.  He likes history and science and computers and stuff like that.   He is a night owl so his most productive hours will probably be afternoon/evening.

[wintermom]

Will you be staying on the main strip or somewhere else? There's lots to see at the various hotels and casinos; Circus Circus has free indoor circus-style entertainment, New York-New York has an indoor roller coaster, Bellagio and Treasure Island have outdoor "shows" (fountains to music and pirate show), there is shopping and "sight seeing" in the Venetian (canals) and Paris (Eiffel tour). Minor children can walk through certain parts of the casinos (they have to stay a certain distance from gambling machines - even the machines in the airport). There are also all kinds of shows you have to pay for, such as Cirque du Soleil. Check to find discount tickets on-line, as they can be pricey. 

 

Otherwise, Vegas is a big city that never sleeps. WalMart is open 24 hours, and I'm sure you could find other places that a 12 year old might like, such as indoor climbing, trampolines, etc. There may be a pool and tennis courts at the hotel, too.

[Spryte]

Any chance it's the NAB? :D. Long shot, but I've been contemplating going again this year, with 12 yr old boy and a 5 yr old girl ... We could meet up!

 

There's tons of stuff to do. If we go out this year, I'd probably push DH to take a few days afterward to head to Death Valley. Hoover Dam is definitely worth a trip, too.

[Jilly]

The National Atomic Testing Museum is great for history buffs. 

[OneStepAtATime]

Any chance it's the NAB? :D. Long shot, but I've been contemplating going again this year, with 12 yr old boy and a 5 yr old girl ... We could meet up!

 

There's tons of stuff to do. If we go out this year, I'd probably push DH to take a few days afterward to head to Death Valley. Hoover Dam is definitely worth a trip, too.

Yes, NAB!  I used to go but not for years.  Kids have never gone and DS wants to.  DH can get our flight on points and the hotel is paid for by the company so I am considering it.  It would be great to meet up, by the way.

[Lanny]

The first time I went there I was 11 or 12. Then a friend's family moved up there, when I was 13, so I was there several times during Summer vacations with him and his family. There are a lot of places he cannot go (especially alone) and think CASINOS first. I got stopped, pushing an empty stroller across a Casino one day. My wife had the baby and I was going to meet them or something...  You will need to be with him at all times and walk very quickly and directly across casinos. Nevada Gaming laws are STRICTLY ENFORCED.

 

I think you will find a lot of things for him to enjoy in Las Vegas. I remember touring Hoover Dam when I was 11 or 12 and the view from the bottom (on the Colorado River) is something I haven't forgotten.  Looking up at all of that concrete.   WOW...

 

Las Vegas is also close to Grand Canyon National Park and my childhood friend now lives in S.W. Utah, about 3 hours up the Interstate from Las Vegas and there are several National Parks there.

 

Have fun and bring money.   My wife LOVES Las Vegas. 

 

OT: If you drive in Nevada, do not drink ANYTHING alcoholic.  The penalties are severe...

[Dad 4 Boys]

It's been a long time since I've been there, so maybe this has changed.  I remember people standing everywhere trying to hand out flyers for the local "gentlemen's" clubs.  These flyers were full color and didn't leave a whole lot to the imagination.  In addition to them being pushed at you from every direction, there were a lot of them blowing up and down the sidewalks.

 

Maybe someone could confirm whether or not this is still the case.  If so, I definitely wouldn't want to have to try to deal with that around a young person.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

It's been a long time since I've been there, so maybe this has changed.  I remember people standing everywhere trying to hand out flyers for the local "gentlemen's" clubs.  These flyers were full color and didn't leave a whole lot to the imagination.  In addition to them being pushed at you from every direction, there were a lot of them blowing up and down the sidewalks.

 

Maybe someone could confirm whether or not this is still the case.  If so, I definitely wouldn't want to have to try to deal with that around a young person.

 

They are still there in certain areas of the strip.  I will say that DH and I both have noticed that those handing them out are more discrete when they see a child in a group. 

[Sarah CB]

I would definitely keep him off the strip - even in the daytime.  We stopped in Vegas for a night and stayed at Circus Circus with our three boys.  I think they were 13, 11, and 8 at the time.  We walked from Circus Circus to Caesar's Palace for the buffet and it was traumatic for the kids.  One of my kids said, "My eyes are burning."  Another said he was going to tell all his friends never to go to Vegas.  My poor littlest guy didn't know where to look.  He kept his eyes on the traffic and then one of those trucks with the big billboards with girls on it went by, so he looked to the other side where there was a magazine stand with more girls and then he looked down at the ground and saw the cards with naked girls on them.  He ended up closing his eyes and we led him down the sidewalk.  

 

We also saw a fight on a street corner.  And some weird guy with a sign asking people to punch him in the nuts.  

 

It's funny, dh and I had gone to Vegas on our own about a year earlier and didn't think twice about bringing the kids.  I guess we just didn't pay a lot of attention?  Anyway, the kids still have negative memories of Vegas. We've been asked a number of times by them why we would have taken them there in the first place.

 

That being said - I'm sure there are lots of things to do that don't involve walking on the strip.

[theelfqueen]

OH OH OH!!! I KNOW! PINBALL!!!!

 

http://www.pinballhall.org/

 

And on the strip -- there's an M&M store and the lions at MGM and the sharks at Mandalay. And a ride on the canals at the Venetian.  And maybe try to catch the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur? And the Luxor has the Bodies exhibition right now and a Titanic exhibit.

Edited March 16, 2016 by theelfqueen

[Garga]

Don't go to the "chocolate factory." We went to Vegas 2 years ago like you: dh for work, the kids and I tagging along.

 

We have been to Hershey's chocolate factory ride (it takes you through a model of the factory) and we've seen potato chip factories and we've seen a small choclate factory around here as well. All the reviews said how wonderful it was to go to the chocolate factory near Vegas so we went.

 

The "tour" was walking down a hallway about as long as my house and peeking into a window of people making chocolate. Except no one was there when we were there. (A week day afternoon). Wait...there was a guy way in the back by a wall pushing a cart. That was it.

 

That hallway led to their store with insanely over-priced candy.

 

Honestly, we hated Vegas. It just wasn't our thing at all. My then 9 yo liked swimming in the hotel pool and that was it. In order to get to our rooms we had to walk through the casino which set my dh and oldest son coughing non-stop for a week. It was horrible.

 

We went to the Excalibur so the kids could play on the arcade games, and it also was smokey. The kids played for a bit and won some tickets and got cheap prices--like a pencil or something. It was a disappointment all around.

 

M&M world is just a big M&M store. The kids like looking at all the M&M stuff and just wanted to buy a bunch of stuff that I didn't want to pay for. I let them each get something there, but it was just a store full of baseball caps and tshirts and M&M candy.

 

 

We also visited my parents the week before Vegas--they live about 4 hours from there. Going out to see the natural world was much, much better than Vegas. We saw the Hoover Dam and the boys loved that. We saw the Grand Canyon and they were ok with that. They mostly loved when we went to a park called Red Rock or something like that? It was near Vegas. And they loved when we went to ancient (1000 year old) Native American ruins. We saw the caves on the sides of cliffs and clay houses in the middle of nowhere. They also liked when we walked around an inactive volcano.

 

Don't do like we did. Get out of town. Especially if you're not from the desert, like we're not. The landscape was very unfamiliar to us and we loved it. You can see a mall or a store or an arcade anywhere. You don't always get to see volcanos and 1000 year old human structures around here!

[Lanny]

I don't remember which hotels, but on TV I saw that one hotel has a Zipline and another one has a Roller Coaster on the roof.  There will be plenty of things for you to do. Just bring money.  If you are there in the Winter and the weather is cooperating, you can ski on Mt. Charleston.

There is probably an "Unofficial" book for Las Vegas with Kids. Their books are tops.  We have the one for Walt Disney World.  Read up and you will find lots of things you can do. Some of them will be free. Some will cost money.   There are more than 2 million people who live in the Las Vegas area and many of them are kids, so there are lots of things to do.  

[Spryte]

Yes, NAB! I used to go but not for years. Kids have never gone and DS wants to. DH can get our flight on points and the hotel is paid for by the company so I am considering it. It would be great to meet up, by the way.

Cool! DH is going to the PREC first, then NAB. I'd skip PREC and just head out for NAB, so I bet our trips would coincide. I haven't been to NAB with him since pre-kids. But he's been traveling so much, I'm thinking we might go with him this year. ...DH just got home from Radio Days in Paris, and he has another conference in a few weeks. That much broadcasting stuff would make me crazy, ha! I'm thinking the same way you are ... We might as well go along, it's all basically covered.

 

It would be fun to meet up while they work! Let's keep each other posted. :)

[purplejackmama]

Valley Fire State Park and Red Rocks canyon are our favorites in Vegas.

[OneStepAtATime]

DH confirmed we will be staying on the strip (He doesn't get to choose).  I have been to Vegas before but not with kids in tow (well, except when DD was a baby) and I didn't use public transportation.  I was also there for business with DH only.  Such a different mind set with a pre-teen boy in tow, LOL.   I am trying to wrap my brain around how we are going to get around while DH is gone.  How is the bus system?

[Vida Winter]

The aquarium at Mandalay Bay is beautiful. The others are right about the strip - my oldest daughter was in tears over some of the things she saw.

[ktgrok]

I think it being traumatic depends on your kids. My teen might be embarrassed a bit, or roll his eyes, but he has no issues with the female body. I've breastfed too much in front of himI think, lol. My younger kids still think breasts are for babies, so would also not be traumatized. But we are pretty practical about that...bodies are bodies, there is nothing about them that is traumatic. Certainly nothing to burn the eyes. Not anymore than a naked pony or elephant would. Parts is parts. 

 

That said, with an older child I'd have a conversation at some point about exploitation, the marketing of sex, the way that society tends to view women as things instead of people, etc. 

 

That said, I'd hate to waste Vegas on a family vacation. I love it there, but for drinking and sunning by the pool, and for people watching in the casino. Not things I'd do with my kids. 

[OneStepAtATime]

I think it being traumatic depends on your kids. My teen might be embarrassed a bit, or roll his eyes, but he has no issues with the female body. I've breastfed too much in front of himI think, lol. My younger kids still think breasts are for babies, so would also not be traumatized. But we are pretty practical about that...bodies are bodies, there is nothing about them that is traumatic. Certainly nothing to burn the eyes. Not anymore than a naked pony or elephant would. Parts is parts. 

 

That said, with an older child I'd have a conversation at some point about exploitation, the marketing of sex, the way that society tends to view women as things instead of people, etc. 

 

That said, I'd hate to waste Vegas on a family vacation. I love it there, but for drinking and sunning by the pool, and for people watching in the casino. Not things I'd do with my kids. 

Good points and I agree on having that particular conversation.  We really haven't discussed that area of things much.

 

And I agree, Vegas wouldn't be my first choice for a family vacation, either, :) but DH can get us there for free and keep us with him for only the cost of food and whatever sights we want to see.  DS really wants to go.  He wants to see Hoover Dam, for one thing.  He also likes traveling.  DD can't go.  She has other obligations that week.  She has no desire to go, anyway.  DS is actually kind of excited about doing something without his sister.  I just need to make it more fun/appropriate for a 12 year old.  :)

 

Thanks so much for the responses, everyone.  I am taking notes.  :)

[gingersmom]

DH confirmed we will be staying on the strip (He doesn't get to choose). I have been to Vegas before but not with kids in tow (well, except when DD was a baby) and I didn't use public transportation. I was also there for business with DH only. Such a different mind set with a pre-teen boy in tow, LOL. I am trying to wrap my brain around how we are going to get around while DH is gone. How is the bus system?

My kids have been to Las Vegas several times and love it.

 

We walk 95% of the places we go and take taxis if we are too hot/tired. We have taken the bus several times up/down the strip. It was fine except one time we got off and still had to walk forever just to reach entrance to hotel after getting off bus.

 

Several hotels have a monorail that runs between them that is fun to travel on.

 

ETA: my kids were not shocked or traumatized by drinking, smoking or semi undressed people.

Edited March 18, 2016 by gingersmom

[theelfqueen]

Not only is there the monorail -- but a lot of the hotels are interconnected... so you can go through 3-4 without going outside.

[ktgrok]

Good points and I agree on having that particular conversation.  We really haven't discussed that area of things much.

 

And I agree, Vegas wouldn't be my first choice for a family vacation, either, :) but DH can get us there for free and keep us with him for only the cost of food and whatever sights we want to see.  DS really wants to go.  He wants to see Hoover Dam, for one thing.  He also likes traveling.  DD can't go.  She has other obligations that week.  She has no desire to go, anyway.  DS is actually kind of excited about doing something without his sister.  I just need to make it more fun/appropriate for a 12 year old.   :)

 

Thanks so much for the responses, everyone.  I am taking notes.   :)

 

 

That makes sense. I remember when I was researching going there there were trailrides you could go on, with big cowboy cookouts afterwards. They didn't seem too badly priced back then. I bet a boy would like that. 

 

[J-rap]

We never went with our younger kids to Vegas, so I may be looking at this weirdly, but I think it would be okay for a 12 year old if you wanted to wander a bit along the strip.  I was there last year for a wedding, and my daughter (granted, she is 10 years older than your son!) and I had so much fun walking up and down the strip.  Many of the hotels are family-friendly now, almost like Disney Land.  We walked into hotels like the Venitian, New York-New York, Paris Las Vegas, and the Bellagio.  We stayed away from the slot machine areas, and just toured the family-friendly stuff.  We rode the Coney Island roller coaster (in the New Yorker) and had lunch in Vienna overlooking a little river with gondolas (in the Venitian).  Nights get weirder of course, and on the streets (at all hours) you'll pass lots of flyers for prostitutes.  (That part might be unsettling).  But most of the people you see on the streets in the daytime are just normal looking people on vacation.  

 

We did enjoy walking up to the Bellagio at night and watching the fountains.  

[theelfqueen]

Oh and the gardens at the Bellagio!